That Way
by micbb
Summary: A brief look into The Doctor's thoughts after the destruction of the Sycorax ship. Onshot


**Hey guys :) This short oneshot will examine The Doctor's thoughts in one of my favourite Rose-Doctor moments. This comes from _The Christmas Invasion_, the first episode of the second season, just after The Doctor has regenerated into his 10th body. They've beat the Sycorax, and The Doctor and Rose are suddenly unsure of how to act around each other. **

**There's a moment, at the end of this episode, just after The Doctor says "That way," where Rose is looking up at the sky and The Doctor is looking at her. That moment, that look, is the inspiration for this story. **

**Obviously, this story contains direct quotes from that episode, so, in case you weren't sure, I don't own anything. **

As they stepped outside, into the white ash, he realized, he tucked his hands into his pockets and looked up at the sky. He walked toward his TARDIS, Rose a step behind him and Jackie and Mickey a few behind her.

In the sky, he could see what looked like shooting stars to the average human, several of them, dancing in the sky.

"What are they? Meteors?" Rose asked, her voice soft.

"It's the spaceship," he answered, not looking at her, "breaking up in the atmosphere." He felt her get closer to him. "This isn't snow, it's ash."

She fiddled with her sleeves. "Okay, not so beautiful." She remarked, fidgeting. It hurt him, how they purposely didn't look at each other and didn't touch each other. If he'd been his old self, he wondered, would she have taken his hand?

"And this is a brand-new planet Earth." He suddenly felt her eyes on him. "No denying the existence of aliens now, everyone saw it." Although they had seen aliens after Downing Street, too…but that wouldn't help with his point. His voice deepened as he finished, "Everything's new."

"And what about you?" Rose asked, her eyes on her hands as she began fidgeting again. He looked at her. "What are you going to do next?"

_You_. Not _we_. Was this her way of saying she wasn't coming? A gentle _you can leave now_?

"Well…" he said, looking at the TARDIS, then back to her. She met his eyes this time. "Back to the TARDIS. Same old life." Did he sound cheerful? He wanted to sound cheerful.

Rose looked nervous. "O-on your own?" she asked.

"Why don't you wanna come?" He asked quickly, much faster than he'd intended. Was she hinting that he get a new companion, now? That she didn't want to be with him anymore? He had been sleeping when she'd needed him, he reasoned, but he'd hoped that all the other times he hadn't been sleeping would have been enough for her to forgive him, just this once.

"Well, yeah," she replied. Was she just saying that because he'd asked her? He didn't want to pressure her. He wanted her to want to be with him.

"Do you though?" His face was serious as he looked at her eyes.

"Yeah!" She said again, quickly.

"I just thought…" he said, trying to explain. "'Cause I'd changed…" he looked away from her briefly.

"Yeah, I-I thought cause you'd changed," he met her eyes when she spoke again. Was she saying she didn't want to come because he'd changed? She seemed so nervous. But she finished her sentence with; "you might not want me, anymore."

She though _he _didn't want _her?_

He felt his face change from serious and resigned to hopeful, and a small smile formed. "Oh, I'd love you to come." He told her honestly.

He felt his heart swell at her answering smile. "Okay." She said, letting out a breath.

They stayed there, smiling at each other. He looked into her eyes, seeing her relief, and was thankful she seemed to have accepted him.

"You're never gunna stay, are you?" The question came from a serious looking Mickey, who kept his gaze down. The Doctor and Rose looked at him.

Rose met Mickey's eyes. "There's just so much out there," Rose told him apologetically. "So much to see. I've got to."

Mickey tried to smile. "Yeah, yeah."

The Doctor felt for him. He couldn't imagine having to lose Rose, over and over again.

"Well, I reckon you're mad – the pair of you." Jackie said, hugging herself to keep warm as they stood outside. "It's like you go looking for trouble."

The Doctor skipped over to her, feeling particularly light on his feet now that he knew Rose would stay with him. "Trouble's just the bits in between!" He told her excitedly. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It's all waiting out there, Jackie, and it's brand-new to me." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose smile affectionately at him, and he felt warmth pool in his stomach at her gaze. "All those planets and creatures and horizons," he looked up at the sky and back to Jackie. "I haven't seen them yet, not with these eyes."

With that he made his way back to Rose's side, where he belonged. "And it's gunna be," he looked at her and smiled, "fantastic." The word felt familiar but strange on his tongue, and Rose's half-hearted smile told him that perhaps that had been his old self's word.

He extended his hand, feeling slightly nervous when Rose didn't take it. She bit her lip and point to the hand before looking at him. "That hand of yours still gives me the creeps," she said with a smile.

Relieved, he chuckled and wiggled his fingers, making her let out a chuckle of her own. Cautiously, Rose took the extended hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze and smile before he looked up at the sky again.

They stayed that way, looking up at the sky, only a few seconds before Rose spoke again. "So," she said, taking a step closer to him. He felt his hearts speed up at her proximity. "Where are we gunna go first?" She asked him.

He looked at her quickly, and she smiled widely, making his hearts flutter. "Um," he examined the stars. He pointed, "that way." She followed his gaze. "No, hold on." He pointed to a different star. "That way."

Rose gingerly pointed to where he was pointing before balling up his fingers to cover her mouth. "That way?" She asked him.

He looked at her, his eyes wide and questioning, hoping for a positive answer. This girl had been to the end of the universe and back with him. She'd saved him, run with him laughed with him. He was so relieved she had chosen to stay with him, ever after she'd become a different person, he couldn't imagine going anywhere she didn't want to go. "Do you think?" He asked her hopefully.

She nodded. "Yeah, that way." She bit her lip again.

The Doctor was still pointing, his arm extended above his head. When she looked at him, a tentative smile on her face, he couldn't help but smile back. Both smiles grew until they were grinning at each other. Rose looked up at the sky, but he continued to look at her.

She was so beautiful, he thought to himself.

She had chosen him, he realized with awe. He had changed, right in front of her, become a whole new man, and she still wanted to be with him.

He'd found the most perfect girl in the universe.


End file.
